76ers' Carter-Williams trying to stem frustration

Philadelphia 76ers' Michael Carter-Williams, right, reacts to getting fouled by Milwaukee Bucks' O.J. Mayo (00) as he reaches for the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014, in Philadelphia. The Bucks won 130-110. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

PHILADELPHIA — On the surface, Michael Carter-Williams might have appeared frustrated the other night. The 76ers’ point guard swears he wasn’t.

At some point, frustration will boil over for Carter-Williams. It looked like it had Tuesday at Oklahoma City, where he got an earful from Sixers coach Brett Brown on a failed defensive assignment in the fourth quarter, then seemingly shrugged off Brown’s message from the sideline two possessions later.

After that game – a loss, the Sixers’ 15th in a row – Carter-Williams said he wasn’t fazed by the blunder.

“I think my answer after the game is the same as it is right now,” Carter-Williams said, following the Sixers’ practice Thursday. “Of course losing is frustrating. It can be frustrating at times, but I don’t think I was flustered or frustrated out there. I have to just keep my composure and keep playing hard and focus on the next play.”

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If he isn’t at wit’s end yet, that time could be fast approaching for Carter-Williams. The Sixers are losing at a near-record pace, and are only five defeats away from equaling the franchise’s losing-streak record.

For the once-surefire pick for NBA Rookie of the Year, Carter-Williams’ stock is falling. Orlando’s Victor Oladipo has lapped Carter-Williams as the odds-on favorite to win the award, according to numbers released this week by betting service Bovada. The 11th overall pick in last year’s draft, Carter-Williams is shooting 34.8 percent through three games in March, his worst for a single month. And that’s following up what had been his worst shooting month, a 10-game stretch in February in which he shot 38.4 percent.

Still, Brown said he’s witnessing the evolution of Carter-Williams’ game and burgeoning leadership, which includes speaking with teammates candidly both on the court and behind closed doors.

“He’s a willing learner,” Brown said. “He’s defiant sometimes. He’s competitive sometimes. He gets angry with me sometimes. But he knows that’s my job, that I’m going to coach him. And I need him to let me coach him, and he will. We will do this together, and I see improvement.”

Issues for Carter-Williams might stem from him having become an easier mark for teams to defend.

His value to the Sixers has ramped up after two of his more-reliable teammates, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes, were moved at the trade deadline. Additionally, teams are getting second and third looks at him deeper in the season, so Carter-Williams hasn’t been able to sneak up on anybody.

And because the Sixers are so deficient at shooting 3-pointers — they rank 30th with a .307 percentage — opponents are opting to deny Carter-Williams access to the lane by packing five bodies into the paint. That way, either he gets off an ugly attempt or his shot is getting blocked.

“It’s a reflection of the people around him. You can guard the paint. You can just show Michael Carter-Williams a crowd of five guys,” Brown said. “We aren’t a good 3-point shooting team. Teams go under his pick-and-rolls because he needs improvement in his 3-point shot. People cheat and guard him going to the rim at 6-6 and they come to block our shots.”

Willing to adjust, Carter-Williams said he’s picked up on teams loading up the middle and preparing for his drives. He said he’s getting better at trusting teammates to knock down 3-pointers, should he go the drive-and-kick route.

As for controlling his emotions, Carter-Williams said it’s like anything a first-year player has to endure. It’s another facet to the game that requires practice.

“I think so. I think it’s, no matter what it is in the game, you can learn from it,” he said. “Sometimes I may lose my cool out there, being mad at myself, but I don’t think it’s a recurring problem or something that I really need to buckle down on. I’m always encouraging to my teammates. I’m always thinking about what’s going on the next play, no matter if I make a good play or a bad play.”

NOTES: Australia national team coach Andrej Lemanis attended Sixers practice as a guest of Brett Brown’s. Lemanis, who succeeded Brown as the Aussies’ coach, said Brown put in a good word for Lemanis to get the job in April 2013. … Sixers forward Brandon Davies, who has missed 21 straight games, was attempting right-handed hook shots after practice. Davies has not played since Jan. 18 after undergoing surgery in January on a broken finger on his right hand. To this point, he had been relegated to left-handed shooting drills.